Initially formed in 2010 as a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal became an independent act in 2013, following Nakamoto's departure from the former. Babymetal released their eponymous debut album in February 2014. Their second album Metal Resistance was released worldwide on April 1, 2016 (2016-04-01), charting well internationally for a Japanese band. Babymetal has also embarked on several tours, including the Babymetal World Tour 2014 held after the release of Babymetal, with a majority of their tour dates taking place outside of Asia.

On October 19, 2018, Babymetal announced that Yui Mizuno (Yuimetal) decided to leave the band due to poor health, following her absence from live performances since December 2017.

Kobametal, the band's producer and long-time heavy metal enthusiast, started planning to launch an idol/heavy metal fusion group in 2009 after he was impressed by Suzuka Nakamoto's performance with her previous group, Karen Girl's, finding her suitable as lead vocalist for the new group.[3] The band was formed in 2010 in Tokyo, Japan,[4] as the heavy music club (重音部,Jūonbu),[5] or sub-unit, of the female idol group Sakura Gakuin, which was also newly formed that year.[6] According to Kobametal, Yui Mizuno and Moa Kikuchi were added to complement Nakamoto's "unique stage presence" with their then small statures, dancing around her "like angels".[3] None of the three members were familiar with metal music before the inception of the band.[7]

Babymetal's first live appearance was on November 28, 2010 (2010-11-28), at Sakura Gakuin's first solo concert, Sakura Gakuin Festival ☆ 2010.[8][9] In July 2011, Babymetal premiered the song, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" ("No More Bullying"), at a Sakura Gakuin concert, but it would only be performed during live concerts for the time being.[10] The band's first single, "Doki Doki ☆ Morning", originally appeared on Sakura Gakuin's debut album Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message, released on April 27, 2011 (2011-04-27). A music video for the song was uploaded to Toy's Factory channel on YouTube on 12 October 2011,[11] and was released as a DVD single in late 2011, under the independent Toy's Factory sublabel Juonbu Records.[12] The music video totaled over 1 million views by the end of 2012.[13][14]

On January 9, 2013, the band debuted on a major record label with "Ijime, Dame, Zettai". Released under the main Toy's Factory label and Juonbu Records,[21] it sold 19,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number six in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.[22] In the spring of 2013, Nakamoto graduated from junior high school and therefore had to "graduate" from Sakura Gakuin (a group of elementary and junior high school girls). However, their management decided that Babymetal would not dissolve and would continue its activities as a band.[23] The group released its next single, "Megitsune", on June 19, 2013,[24] under Toy's Factory and the band's new sublabel BMD Fox Records.[25]

On 10 and 11 August 2013, Babymetal again took part in the Summer Sonic Festival, performing both in Tokyo and Osaka.[26] Later, in October 2013, Babymetal also became the youngest act ever to perform at the heavy metal music festival Loud Park.[19] In November 2013, Babymetal released a promo video for the Japanese premiere of Metallica's movie Through the Never,[27] and released its first live music video Live: Legend I, D, Z Apocalypse, which debuted at seventh place in the weekly Oricon Blu-ray Disc charts, and at second place among music Blu-rays.[28] In December 2013 Babymetal performed overseas again, at Anime Festival Asia Indonesia 2013,[29] and played for a second time in Singapore, after their first overseas Asian tour in 2012.

Babymetal performing in London, November 2014. From left to right; Moametal, Su-metal and Yuimetal.

On 26 February 2014, Babymetal released its first, eponymous album. It contained thirteen tracks and was also available in a limited edition that included a DVD with music videos and live footage.[30][31] The album was very well received by music critics[32] as well as the public, selling over 37,000 copies in Japan its first week, debuting at number four on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart,[33] and number two in Billboard Japan.[34] It also topped iTunesMetal charts in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, and reached number 187 on the US Billboard 200 chart on March 22; few Japanese artists have ever entered the chart.[35][36] Their album also made it into the Heatseekers chart at number four.[37] On March 1 and 2, 2014, the band gave two concerts at Budokan. With the average age of 14.7, they became youngest-ever female act to give a show there. The two concerts were attended by 20,000 people.[38][39] On April 3, 2014, an episode of the Fine Brothers' YouTubers React show was uploaded to YouTube, covering the band, as well as the music videos of "Doki Doki Morning", "Iine!", and "Gimme Chocolate!!";[40][41] the band members' own reaction to the video would later be released on April 30, 2016.[42]

During the band's headlining shows at Yokohama Arena in December 2015, announced a second studio album to be released on April 1, 2016, as well as a world tour starting in London at the Wembley Arena, and concluding in Japan with a debut at the Tokyo Dome.[57] On January 15, 2016, the second album's title was revealed to be Metal Resistance.[58] On March 13, the band's producer, Kobametal, received an Excellence Award from the Association of Media in Digital (AMD) in Japan for his success in promoting the band internationally.[59] On April 2, one day after the release of Metal Resistance, Babymetal became the first Japanese act to headline Wembley Arena,[60] with the largest sale of merchandise for a single day event in the venue's history,[61] coinciding with the highest ever entry for an album in the UK charts for a Japanese act.[61]The Guardian gave their Wembley performance a rating of five out of five stars.[62] On April 5, Babymetal made their U.S. television debut, performing "Gimme Chocolate!!" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[63] Babymetal were added as a character skin in the Wii U video game Super Mario Maker in 2016.[64]

On May 26, 2016, it was announced by WWE's Triple H on Twitter that their song "Karate", along with A Day to Remember's "Paranoia", would be used as one of the official theme songs of NXT TakeOver: The End.[65][66] On July 18, the band made a special appearance at the Alternative Press Music Awards where they performed "Karate" before being joined onstage by Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. Halford, along with Nakamoto and the Kami Band, performed an abridged version of "Painkiller", followed by a performance of "Breaking the Law" where they were rejoined by Mizuno and Kikuchi on guitars.[67][68] On July 27, Metal Hammer readers voted Babymetal's debut album as the best album of the 21st century.[69] In September 2016, Warner Bros. announced that a hybrid live action-animation fantasy-adventure short form series featuring the members of the band was under development. The series would be developed by Blue Ribbon Content in collaboration with Amuse Group USA (an Amuse Inc. subsidiary based in the United States). The band's producer, Kobametal, is also involved with production of the series.[70]

On September 19 (Red Night) and September 20, 2016 (Black Night), Babymetal ended their Babymetal World Tour 2016: Legend Metal Resistance by performing at the Tokyo Dome, with both nights sold out and approximately 55,000 people attending each night. These included fans from Japan and many others from around the world. Yuimetal admitted she was "still in shock" that she was playing at the venue. Moametal felt the same, calling it " a big challenge for young girls of our age to stand on that stage". Su-metal explained that "In Japan we have played many big venues like Budokan and others, but Tokyo Dome was always a place that I have been dreaming of performing at."[71] In December 2016, Babymetal supported the Red Hot Chili Peppers during The Getaway World Tour in the UK. During their final show on the tour, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith joined Babymetal onstage to perform their covers of Judas Priest's "Painkiller" and "Breaking the Law". After the performance, Smith thanked Babymetal for being on tour with them and led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to Su-metal.[72]

In October 2017, Babymetal were officially revealed as the performers of the "Unikitty Theme" for the Unikitty! TV series.[77][78] On December 2 and December 3, 2017, Babymetal performed at the Hiroshima Green Arena, with the shows billed Legend "S" Baptism XX.[79] This was the first time the group performed in Su-Metal's hometown of Hiroshima, and it was an early coming of age celebration for her, since December 20, 2017 was her 20th birthday (as hinted in the show title), the age of majority in Japan; the lyrics to "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!", about a girl's fifteenth birthday, were even modified for the occasion.[80] This was also Babymetal's first performance without all three members, as Yuimetal was unable to perform due to illness.[81]

On December 30, 2017, Kami Band guitarist Mikio Fujioka fell from an observation deck; he died from his injuries on January 5, 2018.[82]

On April 1, 2018, Babymetal posted a mysterious video entitled "Metal Resistance Episode VII – The Revelation" on their YouTube channel.[83] In the video, it is explained that a "dark side" of Babymetal exists, "with seven metal spirits", and that a "new era is about to begin". On May 1, they announced via Twitter that they were launching their own record label, named Babymetal Records.[84][85] One day later, they posted another cryptic message via Twitter and Instagram, stating that "no one will know who, when, where, or how, the Chosen Seven will be presented, only the Fox God knows."[86] Over the next week, they posted a series of cryptic images onto their Instagram story, labelled 1-7, and displaying mysterious, black and white imagery in anticipation of the tour and the Chosen Seven.[better source needed]

On May 8, 2018, just ahead of the Babymetal World Tour 2018, the band released a music video for a new single, "Distortion".[87] Yuimetal was absent from Babymetal's tour of the United States in May 2018, with no advance warning. Amid fan speculation on Mizuno's status with the group, a representative of 5B Management, the American management company representing Babymetal, replied to an inquiry from Alternative Press Magazine by saying that "Yuimetal remains a member of the band, but she is not on this current U.S. tour." The reply also hinted about "a new narrative for the future of the band which is currently evolving" and a "storyline" that "has changed."[88] However, Yuimetal was also absent from Babymetal's European tour in June 2018, and her appearance for the Asian leg remained unconfirmed.[89] Babymetal has since performed at Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio, the Download Festival in Donington Park, United Kingdom,[90] and the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany.

On October 19, 2018, shortly before the Japan leg of the tour, the band released a new single, "Starlight". On the same day, the band officially announced Yuimetal's departure from the group.[91] Mizuno had since released a statement explaining her decision and her desire to pursue a solo career.[92]

Tristan Peterson, of Metal Obsession, remarked in his review of the band's debut album "This band was created for the demographic of “Music that your Japanese Boyfriend/Girlfriend, who doesn’t really like Metal, would enjoy.” as well as "[Babymetal] has made metal cute without losing any of its edge."[100]

Patrick St. Michel from Japanese music and culture site MTV 81 praises the "pure, headbang-inducing energy" of the group's live performances and describes their style as a mixture of "...seemingly disparate sounds of heavy metal and idol pop, creating music anchored both by throat-mauling screeches and cuddly choruses."[101] The magazine Metal Hammer described their act using the formula "Short skirts, school girl charm and squeaky voices — just like in the manga comics. But they mix the whole thing with Metal."[102]

Lyrical themes found in Babymetal's music focus on real-world issues and also typical idol-pop topics such as encouraging young teens to accept and stand up for themselves, the body image concerns of girls and women pressured by society to remain thin and also bullying, while they also sing about what it's like going to your first concert, the concept of an "ideal woman" and chocolate, subjects which critics say are a step away from typical lyrical styles used by most metal bands.[103]

Besides dancing, the trio all perform vocals. Su-metal is the main vocalist, credited on Babymetal's official site with vocals and dancing, while Moametal and Yuimetal are credited with scream and dance,[104][105] whether to the side of or in front of her. In the band's early years, the band members did not speak directly to the audience, or smile at the crowd.[1] Babymetal's costumes take a variety of cues from the popular Japanese Gothic and Punk Lolita styles, with an emphasis on red and black.[13][106]

Since 2018, due to Yuimetal's absence and eventual departure, the band has performed with Moametal taking both sides accompanying Su-metal, while two backup dancers perform at the sides of the stage.[107]

Instead of the sign of the horns, the band uses the hand gesture of the kitsune to symbolise the band's supposed divine inspiration.[104][108] Initially, the band members were shown photos of the sign, but mistook it for the head of a fox; as a result, the management accepted it as the band's sign.[1] Additionally, Babymetal style of moshing, known as mosh'sh (モッシュッシュ,mosshusshu), has been described a safe, fun, friendly game of push and shove.[109]

In their concerts, Babymetal are accompanied by a backing band. In their early stages, the backing band consisted of the "Babybones"—a group of nameless individuals dressed in skeleton costumes that would mime live performances while pre-recorded studio tracks were being used.[110][111][112][113] In late 2012, Babymetal debuted a live band for their live performances which they referred to as "Full Metal Band" - a group of live musicians dressed in white robes and corpse paint. They have since been referred to by band members and fans as "Gods of Metal" and more recently "Kami Band". From late 2012 to early 2014, the two groups would alternate, with the Kami Band being used more for festival appearances and special events. At the Babymetal Death Match Tour in May 2013, the Kami Band performed all music live for the first time.[109] As of early 2014, the Babybones band has been quietly retired, and the Kami Band has since been established as Babymetal's primary backing band.

The Kami Band has consisted of a rotating line-up of different musicians since its debut in late 2012. As of early 2018, however, the line-up has been relatively stable, consisting of guitarists Takayoshi Ohmura, Leda, and Isao, bassist Boh, and drummers Hideki Aoyama and Yuya Maeta with members occasionally substituting for one another if needed. Kami Band member Leda has contributed to Babymetal's music, most notably on their album Metal Resistance (credited as Ledametal).

According to Kei "Kobametal" Kobayashi, the band's executive producer, the band was formed under the idea of a new type of metal, and the members of the band receive "divine messages" from the Fox God, though Nakamoto explained that the messages received were indirect, as they would be sent to Kobametal first.[114] He stated that it was up to the people's decision to accept or reject the idea. Additionally, he rejected the notion of the band being a "metal" or "pop" act, preferring "the one and only Babymetal."[115] Kikuchi joked that the three members did not decide to join the band, as it was a destiny chosen by the Fox God, whose goal is said to have the band perform and spread their music all over the world.[116]

The band has received varied reception by the public. Some critics praised the band for being "creative" and "rule-breaking" in the metal genre,[117][118] while others called the band a "novelty group" and a "silly balancing act".[119][120] When asked about people who do not consider the band's pop-infused music "metal", Nakamoto acknowledged the claims and praised such accusations, warranting how metal purists have their own preferences for metal being a certain way, and taking them into consideration for the band's progress. Additionally, the band members believe in staying true to themselves and enjoying what they do, as she agrees is enough for them.[116]

The fanbase, collectively referred to as "The One",[114] has been noted by Mizuno to be a mixed demographic of varying age. Noting the fans of metal and pop, she described the "metalheads" who look like themselves, and the pop fans who dress and cosplay as them. She hopes to be able to continue to reach out to all different types of people. When asked about being role models for their fans and young girls, she considered it an honour. She further emphasized the importance of being able to reach out to the youth, especially for younger music fans branching out to the metal genre via Babymetal, noting her own lack of experience of metal before joining the band.[116]

In December 10, 2013, Babymetal released Babymetal Apocalypse, an incomplete binder that would be gradually filled with pages intermittently made available later.[121] Pages would include the lore of Babymetal, artwork and photos, and information on member-exclusive events, like "Apocrypha" during the Babymetal World Tour 2014. By purchasing the binder and entering a code included with the enclosed art book online, one could join the band's official fanclub called "Babymetal Apocalypse Web".[122] A video uploaded to "Babymetal Apocalypse Web" members in December 2014 announced the transition to a new official fanclub called "The One", which started with limited edition releases for Live at Budokan: Red Night & Black Night Apocalypse,[123] and would continue to release member-exclusive media with news published to the official fansite.[124]

^"Babymetal" (ベビーメタル,Bebīmetaru) comes from the words "baby" (ベイビー,beibī) and "heavy metal" (ヘビーメタル,hebī metaru). The correct pronunciation rhymes with "heavy metal", without emphasis on the first a as in "baby".[1] However, the band does not strictly enforce this, and most native English speakers still pronounce the name as baby metal.[2]

1.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century

2.
Heavy metal music
–
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are associated with aggression. The first heavy metal such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the evolution by discarding much of its blues influence, Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden, before the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as metalheads or headbangers. During the 1980s, glam metal became popular with such as Mötley Crüe. Since the mid-1990s popular styles have further expanded the definition of the genre and these include groove metal and nu metal, the latter of which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip hop. Heavy metal is characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound. Metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter, or omit one or more of these attributes, the typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are used to enhance the fullness of the sound. Deep Purples Jon Lord played an overdriven Hammond organ, in 1970, John Paul Jones used a Moog synthesizer on Led Zeppelin III, by the 1990s, in. almost every subgenre of heavy metal synthesizers were used. The electric guitar and the power that it projects through amplification has historically been the key element in heavy metal. The heavy metal guitar sound comes from a use of high volumes. Guitar solos are an element of the heavy metal code. That underscores the significance of the guitar to the genre, most heavy metal songs featur at least one guitar solo, which is a primary means through which the heavy metal performer expresses virtuosity. One exception is nu metal bands, which tend to omit guitar solos, with rhythm guitar parts, the heavy crunch sound in heavy metal. Palm muting the strings with the hand and using distortion. Palm muting creates a tighter, more sound and it emphasizes the low end

3.
J-pop
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J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. J-pop was further defined by new groups in the late 1970s, particularly electronic synthpop band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Eventually, J-pop replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene, the term was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese music from foreign music, and now refers to most Japanese popular music. The origin of modern J-pop is said to be Japanese-language rock music inspired by the likes of The Beatles, unlike the Japanese music genre called kayōkyoku, J-pop uses a special kind of pronunciation, which is similar to that of English. One notable singer to do so is Keisuke Kuwata, who pronounced the Japanese word karada as kyerada, additionally, unlike Western music, the major second was usually not used in Japanese music, except art music, before rock music became popular in Japan. At first, the term J-pop was used only for Western-style musicians in Japan, such as Pizzicato Five and Flippers Guitar, on the other hand, Mitsuhiro Hidaka of AAA from Avex Trax said that J-pop was originally derived from the Eurobeat genre. However, the became a blanket term, covering other music genres—such as the majority of Japanese rock music of the 1990s. O. A. Because the band did not want to perform J-pop music, their album featured the 1980s Pop of MTV, according to his fellow band member Toru Hidaka, the 1990s music that influenced him was not listened to by fans of other music in Japan at that time. Hide of Greeeen openly described their genre as J-pop. He said, I also love rock, hip hop and breakbeats, for example, hip hop musicians learn the culture of hip hop when they begin their career. We are not like those musicians and we love the music as very much. Those professional people may say What are you doing, but I think that our musical style is cool after all. By the Taishō period, Western musical techniques and instruments, which had introduced to Japan in the Meiji period, were widely used. Influenced by Western genres such as jazz and blues, ryūkōka incorporated Western instruments such as the violin, harmonica, however, the melodies were often written according to the traditional Japanese pentatonic scale. In the 1930s, Ichiro Fujiyama released popular songs with his tenor voice, Fujiyama sang songs with a lower volume than opera through the microphone. Jazz musician Ryoichi Hattori attempted to produce Japanese native music which had a flavor of blues and he composed Noriko Awayas hit song Wakare no Blues. Awaya became a popular singer and was called Queen of Blues in Japan. Due to pressure from the Imperial Army during the war, the performance of music was temporarily halted in Japan

4.
Death metal
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Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Building from the structure of thrash metal and early black metal. Bands such as Venom, Celtic Frost, Slayer, and Kreator were important influences on the genres creation, Possessed and Death, along with bands such as Obituary, Autopsy and Morbid Angel, are often considered pioneers of the genre. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more attention as popular genre niche record labels like Combat, Earache. Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning several subgenres, melodic death metal combines death metal elements with those of the new wave of British heavy metal. Technical death metal is a style, with uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms. Death-doom combines the deep growled vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal with the slow tempos, deathgrind, goregrind and pornogrind mix the complexity of death metal with the intensity, speed, and brevity of grindcore. Deathcore combines death metal with metalcore traits, Death n roll combines death metals growled vocals and highly distorted, detuned guitar riffs with elements of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal. English heavy metal band Venom, from Newcastle, crystallized the elements of what became known as thrash metal, death metal and black metal. Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre, another highly influential band, Slayer, formed in 1981. Although the band was a metal act, Slayers music was more violent than their thrash contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth. Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war, according to AllMusic, their third album Reign in Blood inspired the entire death metal genre. It had a big impact on the genre such as Death, Obituary. While attributed as having a Slayer influence, current and former members of the band had actually cited Venom and Motörhead, as well as work by Exodus. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of Death Metal than any of the acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80s. During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, an influential metal band was formed in Florida. Death, originally called Mantas, was formed in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner, Kam Lee, in 1984 they released their first demo entitled Death by Metal, followed by several more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the bands name, with Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact on the scene

5.
Japanese idol
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In Japanese pop culture idol is a term typically used to refer to young manufactured stars/starlets marketed to be admired for their cuteness. Idols are intended to be role models and they are supposed to maintain a good public image and be good examples for young people. Idols aim to play a range of roles as media personalities, e. g. pop singers, panelists of variety programs, bit-part actors, models for magazines. Their songs typically do not require great singing skills, their popular appeal comes largely from the attractiveness of their public image, Idols are often not considered serious musicians or serious actors. Consequently, many young stars now reject the label in their desire to be seen as professionals rather than as objects of fanatical devotion. The biggest annual idol concert festival is the Tokyo Idol Festival held since 2010, more than 300 idol groups, about 1500 idols performed and attracted about 80,000 spectators in 2016. Whether a person is categorized as an idol depends on how he or she got into the entertainment business, some entertainment companies and music projects specialize in idols, and they automatically market everyone they sign as an idol. Such idol music projects have their own steady following, i. e. idol fans who prefer the style of one particular project they support, but bigger companies can choose, for example, not to refer to a new pop group they create as an idol group. As a result, there are some groups and boy bands with practically the same kind of fan following that are not idols according to their official profiles. The term came to be applied to any cute actress or female singer, teenage girls, mostly between 14 and 16, and teenage males, mostly between 15 and 18, began rising to stardom. One in particular, Momoe Yamaguchi, was a star until her marriage. Idols dominated the pop scene in the 1980s, and this period is known as the Golden Age of Idols in Japan. In a single year, as many as 40 or 50 new idols could appear, a few idols from that era, such as Seiko Matsuda, are still popular. At the same time, the popularity of male Japanese idols, such as SMAP, Kinki Kids, Tokio and they gained high popularity in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Initially the term arose to describe very young newly emerging female singers who were noted for their innocence and freshness. A diversification occurred in the 1990s and instead of few idols vying for popularity, in the mid-1990s, idols became much younger than before, and groups of idols like Speed and Morning Musume became prominent. Idols also became a fixture in anime by singing opening or ending songs that have little relevance to the anime itself. Some experimented with being voice actors, and so voice actors themselves became somewhat like idols, even today, some are still involved with the video game industry, though they are not always entirely successful

6.
Music video
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A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys or marketing campaigns for food, although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by terms including illustrated song, filmed insert, promotional film, promotional clip, promotional video, song video. Music videos use a range of styles of contemporary videomaking techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation, music, combining these styles and techniques has become more popular because of the variation it presents to the audience. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the songs lyrics, other music videos may be without a set concept, being merely a filmed version of the songs live performance. Product placement is a technique in music videos, exemplified by the appearance of the Beats Pill in numerous hip hop videos. In 1894, sheet music publishers Edward B, marks and Joe Stern hired electrician George Thomas and various performers to promote sales of their song The Little Lost Child. Using a magic lantern, Thomas projected a series of images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. This would become a form of entertainment known as the illustrated song. In 1926, with the arrival of many musical short films were produced. Vitaphone shorts featured many bands, vocalists and dancers, early 1930s cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on-camera in live-action segments during the cartoons. The early animated films by Walt Disney, such as the Silly Symphonies shorts and especially Fantasia, the Warner Brothers cartoons, even today billed as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, were initially fashioned around specific songs from upcoming Warner Brothers musical films. Live action musical shorts, featuring such performers as Cab Calloway, were also distributed to theaters. Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a short film called St. Louis Blues featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period, soundies, produced and released from 1940 to 1947, were musical films that often included short dance sequences, similar to later music videos

7.
Tower Records
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Tower Records was a retail music chain based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as a franchise and an online music store. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, Tower. com was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings. The corporate name was MTS Inc. but this was compared to the much more widely recognized Tower Records. In 1960, Russell Solomon opened the first Tower Records store on Watt Avenue, in Sacramento and he named it for his fathers drugstore, which shared a building and name with the Tower Theater, where Solomon first started selling records. By 1976, Solomon had opened Tower Books, Posters, and Plants at 1600 Broadway, in 1995, Tower. com opened, making the enterprise one of the first retailers to move online. Seven years after its founding, Tower Records expanded to San Francisco, opening a store in what was originally a store at Bay Street. The Tower Records stores in Japan split off from the chain and are now independent. In New York City, Tower Records operated a suite of stores on and it was a noted hangout for teenagers from the wider metropolitan area. The Tower Records Annex was in the building, but located in the back at the southwest corner of East 4th and Lafayette Streets, and stocked items that were older. The third store, Tower Video located on the southeast corner of East 4th and Lafayette Streets, specialized in video and, for a while, the second floor of this location also sold books. Their location on the Upper West Side, near Lincoln Center on 66th Street, the Nashville location on West End Avenue was in a former Packard dealership. The old showroom floor in front was devoted to CDs, cassettes, the area in the back housed videocassette sales and rentals, PC and console games and music paraphernalia. The strip mall next door contained a separate Tower Books, the location was famous for their late-night Monday events that culminated at midnight on Tuesday when staff started ringing up sales of new releases. Because of the proximity to Music Row, country music stars could occasionally be seen performing or shopping there. As part of a 2002 settlement with 41 states over CD price fixing Tower Records, along with retailers Musicland and Trans World Entertainment and it is estimated that between 1995 and 2000 customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album. In 2005, the company began using scan and listen stations in its stores and these stations allowed customers to listen to audio samples from CDs and to search for particular songs, albums and artists. This model of listening station is used at the Arizona-based chain Zia Records

8.
Metallica
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Metallica is an American heavy metal band based in San Rafael, California. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles when vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper, Metallicas current line-up comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band, the bands fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding big four bands of thrash metal, alongside Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. The band expanded its musical direction and achieved commercial success with its eponymous fifth album Metallica. The album was also their first to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, in 2000, Metallica joined with other artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the bands copyright-protected material without consent from the band. A settlement was reached and Napster became a pay-to-use service, the band returned to its original musical style with the release of Death Magnetic, and in 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Metallica has released ten albums, four live albums, five extended plays,26 music videos. The band has won eight Grammy Awards and six of its albums have debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The bands eponymous 1991 album has sold over 16 million copies in the United States, Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over 110 million records worldwide. Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone, in 2012, Metallica formed the independent record label Blackened Recordings and took full ownership of its albums and videos. The band is currently promoting Hardwired. to Self-Destruct, which was released on November 18,2016, guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of Leather Charm answered the advertisement. Although he had not formed a band, Ulrich asked Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel if he could record a song for the upcoming compilation album Metal Massacre. Slagel accepted and Ulrich recruited Hetfield to sing and play rhythm guitar, the band was officially formed in October 1981, five months after Ulrich and Hetfield first met. Ulrich talked to his friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a fanzine, Quintana had proposed the names MetalMania and Metallica. A second advertisement was placed in The Recycler for a position as lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine answered, Ulrich and Hetfield recruited him after seeing his expensive guitar equipment. In early 1982, Metallica recorded its first original song Hit the Lights for the Metal Massacre I compilation, Hetfield played bass on the song and Lloyd Grant was credited with a guitar solo. Metal Massacre I was released on June 14,1982, early pressings listed the band incorrectly as Mettallica, the bands first taste of live success came early, they were chosen to open for British heavy metal band Saxon at one gig of their 1982 US tour. Metallica recorded its first demo, Power Metal, an inspired by Quintanas early business cards in early 1982

9.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town

10.
Cologne
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Cologne is the largest city in the German federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-largest city in Germany. It is located within the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, one of the major European metropolitan areas, and with more than ten million inhabitants, Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River, less than eighty kilometres from Belgium. The citys famous Cologne Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne, the University of Cologne is one of Europes oldest and largest universities. Cologne was founded and established in Ubii territory in the first century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, Cologne, the French version of the citys name, has become standard in English as well. The city functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior, during the Middle Ages it flourished on one of the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval. Up until World War II the city had several occupations by the French. Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, the bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city. With the intention of restoring as many buildings as possible. Cologne is a cultural centre for the Rhineland, it hosts more than thirty museums. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics, the Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, imm Cologne, Gamescom, and the Photokina. The first urban settlement on the grounds of modern-day Cologne was Oppidum Ubiorum, founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, in 50 AD, the Romans founded Colonia on the Rhine and the city became the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. The city was named Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in 50 AD, considerable Roman remains can be found in present-day Cologne, especially near the wharf area, where a notable discovery of a 1900-year-old Roman boat was made in late 2007. From 260 to 271 Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marius, in 310 under Constantine a bridge was built over the Rhine at Cologne. Roman imperial governors resided in the city and it one of the most important trade. Cologne is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map, maternus, who was elected as bishop in 313, was the first known bishop of Cologne. The city was the capital of a Roman province until occupied by the Ripuarian Franks in 462, parts of the original Roman sewers are preserved underneath the city, with the new sewerage system having opened in 1890. Early medieval Cologne was part of Austrasia within the Frankish Empire, Cologne had been the seat of a bishop since the Roman period, under Charlemagne, in 795, bishop Hildebold was promoted to archbishop

11.
Anime Festival Asia
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Anime Festival Asia is a series of anime conventions held in the Southeast Asian region, with a core annual convention held in Singapore. The main convention is held over a weekend in mid-November. Satellite conventions were held in 2012 at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Alongside the main conventions, AFA also holds periodic business conferences focusing on the anime, the first of these was Animation Asia Conference, held in 2009. AFA is notable for having one of the largest attendance figures for anime conventions outside Japan, total cumulative attendance since 2008 as of 2016 is 1,117,950. The continued organisation of AFA is managed by SOZO Pte Ltd. in partnership with Zepp Entertainment & Dentsu, first held at Suntec Convention Hall, Singapore. Managed to invite Kōji Morimoto, Animation Director of Studio 4 °C and Kunio Okawara, Ichirou Mizuki and Mayn were also present at the event. Managed to invite Danny Choo and Kaname to the event, created the maid cafe called Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe. Notable singers were Shoko Nakagawa who sang a duet with Ichrou Mizuki on Day 1 of the event, hatsune Miku made her first live solo appearance overseas. Held the first ever Regional Cosplay Championship where cosplayers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, voice actors to the event and performed a first-ever live dubbing of certain scenes. Aira and Alodia Gosiengfiao as well as Kaname were invited as cosplay judges, voice actors Kana Hanazawa and Milky Holmes were invited to the events. A butler cafe called Atelier Royale was featured, invited singers included AKB48, Angela, Ichirou Mizuki, JAM Project. Movies Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie, Awakening of the Trailblazer, confirmed date of the event, November 11 to November 13. Invited singers include Ichirou Mizuki, Flow, Lisa, and Sea*a on Day 2 of AFA, Mayn, Angela, Kalafina, Kanako Itō and Milky Holmes on Day 3. Hatsune Miku had her very own Live Party concert on Day 1 of the event, chiwa Saitō, Gō Nakanishi, Danny Choo, Kaname and Usagi are special guests for the event. Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn episode 4 will be shown on the day as Japan. Separated into 3 events with the first event held at Malaysia in June, the event held at Indonesia in September. Danny Choo hosted the three events, all 3 events also had a maid cafe and a butler cafe

12.
Babymetal (album)
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Babymetal is the debut studio album by Japanese metal idol group Babymetal. The album was first released on February 26,2014 under Toys Factory in Japan, in editions, regular. The limited edition comes with a bonus DVD containing video clips and it reached the 4th place on Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 37,463 copies during the first week. Several singles were released for the album, including the successful songs Ijime, Dame, Zettai, Megitsune. The album had a physical release internationally mid-2015, the album was released in a regular edition, a standard limited edition, and a special limited edition for members of the groups special Apocalypse Web site. And footage of the performance at Summer Sonic 2013. An encore pressing of the limited version of the album was released on July 26,2014 with a special cover to commemorate the bands 2014 world tour. It was only available to people who had previously signed up for the groups Apocalypse Web site. In mid-2015, the album was re-released worldwide under different record labels with two tracks, the new song Road of Resistance and a live performance of Gimme Chocolate. The limited edition of the also had its first international release in Europe, containing a DVD with the groups music videos. A live music clip of the song Road of Resistance from the concert at the Saitama Super Arena was released May 2015. Prior to the release of the album, Babymetal had released five singles, the first single, Doki Doki ☆ Morning, initially appeared on the Sakura Gakuin debut album Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo, Message, before being released independently on October 24,2011. Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba, a joint single with the band Kiba of Akiba, was released on March 7,2012, Headbangeeeeerrrrr. was released on July 4,2012 and included a neck corset on the limited editions. Ijime, Dame, Zettai was the first major single released on January 7,2013. Megitsune was released as the major label single on June 19,2013. The five songs, as well as five B-sides, are featured on the album, two songs from the album, Akatsuki and Rondo of Nightmare, are performed solely by Su-metal. Two other songs from the album, Onedari Daisakusen and Song 4, are performed mainly by Yuimetal and Moametal, under the stage name Black Babymetal, the latter of which was written by the two. Prior to the release of the album, a sixth single